Frank Luntz Offers President Obama "Advice" On Health Care
GOP wordsmith Frank Luntz specializes in fear-mongering, but he says President Obama needs to stop the "doom and gloom" and "stay on the hopeful."
Last night on Fox News, Sean Hannity interviewed conservative "word doctor" and pollster Frank Luntz, who wrote the GOP's playbook for obstructing health care reform. During the interview, Hannity suggested three times that President Obama is trying to sell health care reform with "doom and gloom." Luntz agreed, saying that his "advice" for Obama is "stay on the positive, stay on the hopeful":
HANNITY: Well, it's going to be very interesting. Do you think the president makes a mistake by bringing up too much fear, doom and gloom in trying to sell this?
LUNTZ: He actually does his best when he is hopeful and optimistic. And in the testing that we've done of his language, it is very favorable. So I'm surprised he's using the language that he's using right now. I think he's spent too much time around Congress and they're kind of bringing him down. My advice to Barack Obama -- stay on the positive, stay on the hopeful, and focus on what this can do for individuals.
Luntz's "advice" is ironic considering that his memo to Republicans places particular emphasis on words that will "frighten" the public. And, of course, Obama is only being honest about a health care system that desperately needs real reform. That's why Americans overwhelmingly support a public option -- despite Luntz's claim that ads supporting the president's plans have failed to resonate. Not that his insurance industry-funded analysis should be trusted in the first place.
